Meditation for the afternoon slump: 5-minute letting go session, at the weekend

About this practice

5 minutes to meet the afternoon slump with less of a fight. A letting go practice, at the weekend. A guided session of about 5 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: the afternoon slump

The post-lunch dip is a normal circadian low, not a failure of willpower. Core temperature and alertness both dip in the early afternoon.

It tends to show up as:

• Heavy, foggy middle of the day
• Struggling to stay with anything
• Reaching for sugar or caffeine

The dip is temporary. A short practice gets you through the low without adding stimulants on top of it.

Doing this at the weekend

• Do it without a schedule to justify it
• Later in the morning, in better light, usually works well
• Let the length be open-ended if the time allows

Recovery is not something you have to earn first, and treating it as a reward keeps it conditional.

How letting go works

Letting go is about loosening grip rather than dropping things. It works on the effort attached to a problem — the holding, rehearsing and bracing — which is separable from the problem itself.

• Pick one thing you are gripping and loosen a single finger
• Release the effort with the exhale, not the issue
• Set down temporarily; you can pick it up again after

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Feel your ribs move. That is all the machinery you need to pay attention to right now.
2. 0:15Setting something down is not the same as giving up. You can pick it up again after.
3. 0:30For the next few minutes, the only job is to notice what's already happening.
4. 0:44Let your body feel heavier than it did a minute ago. Let the chair or the floor take it.
5. 1:00Count down from ten, one number per exhale.
6. 1:11Let each breath out be a small letting go of the muscles around your ribs.
7. 1:25Now feel both feet at once. That's a lot of contact with the world.
8. 1:39Notice the weight of your thighs, all the way down.
9. 1:51Notice your shoulders, one at a time. The left one first.
10. 2:03No need to open your eyes yet.
11. 2:13Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
12. 2:24With each exhale, let a little of the effort go. Not the problem — just the effort.
13. 2:39If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
14. 2:51Whatever the post-lunch fog is doing right now, your breathing can keep going underneath it.
15. 3:05There is a part of you that has handled hard moments before. That part is here now, even if it is quiet.
16. 3:23Count four breaths silently. Then stop counting and just follow.
17. 3:35Nothing about the 3pm dip has to be explained or justified in this room.
18. 3:49Notice the tone of your own inner voice. Is it kind?
19. 4:01Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
20. 4:12We are not solving anything in the next few minutes. We are setting it down, temporarily.
21. 4:27Come back slowly. There's no prize for finishing fast.
22. 4:38Let your body keep settling.

Questions people ask

Meditation is a practice, not a treatment. If you are dealing with ongoing distress, please also reach out to a professional.